The Butler women’s basketball team can clinch the
runner-up spot in the league standings - and an automatic
postseason berth - with a win Saturday at Valparaiso. The Bulldogs
hold the tie-breakers with Cleveland State, who like Butler also
has a chance to finish 12-6 in league play.

The Starting 5 -
Butler’s Top Storylines

1. Clinching The 2nd Spot: Butler,
which has posted a 14-4 mark and finished second in the league in
each of the past two seasons, can finished tied with Cleveland
State at 12-6 in the league standings. Butler owns the tie-breaker
because of head-to-head splits down to UIC in the standings. BU
swept UIC and CSU did not. This means a Butler win over Valparaiso
makes the Bulldogs the No. 2 seed and league runner-up, earning an
automatic bid into the WNIT.

2. 80 Wins For 2011 Class:
Butler’s group of five seniors (Alyssa Pittman was a
transfer) has been one of the most successful classes in school
history. Azjah Bass, Brittany Bowen, Terra Burns, Chloe Hamilton
and Pittman enter Saturday’s game with 80 wins, the fourth
most victories in school history. This year’s senior class
has won more games than any of Beth Couture’s previous senior
groups, and the 2011 Bulldogs can still reach third in school
history (84 wins, 1998).

3. Dawgs Eating Up Indiana: Butler
has established itself among the best college teams in the state in
recent seasons. BUis 12-4 against opponents from Indiana over the
last three seasons, including a 4-1 mark against
Valparaiso.

4. Chloe 6th In The Nation: Chloe
Hamilton enters Saturday’s play ranked sixth in the country
in field goal shooting at .591, just half a percentage point out of
the fourth spot. The 5-10 senior is one of only seven Division I
players shooting .580 or better. Hamilton’s field goal
percentage also leads the Horizon League overall and also in league
games.

5. Players Of The Week: Brittany
Bowen and Chloe Hamilton have each been tabbed Horizon League
Player of the Week this season. Hamilton garnered the honor on Jan.
24 for her efforts at Loyola and UIC, when she averaged 21.5 points
in a pair of BU wins. Bowen was selected as player of the week on
Jan. 10 after averaging 19.0 points per game in road wins at Wright
State and Detroit.

Butler-Valparaiso Series: Butler
leads the all-time series with Valpo 19-5. The Bulldogs have won
five of the last six meetings and are 5-3 against the Crusaders
since the team joined the Horizon League in 2007-08. Beth Couture
is 5-4 against Valparaiso.

...Last Time vs. Valparaiso: In the
league opener for both teams, Brittany Bowen had 18 points and 10
rebounds to lead the Dawgs to a 61-49 win. Chloe Hamilton added 12
points.

Remember Susan?: The most memorable
Butler-Valpo game in recent years was in January 2009, when Susan
Lester scored 31 points off the bench in a 77-44 Butler win.
Lester, who had 27 at halftime, finished with 11-for-19 shooting
and made five 3-pointers.

More On The 2011 Class: This
year’s senior class enters Saturday’s game with 80
wins. This senior class is 80-44 over the last four years, and
40-22 since Alyssa Pittman became eligible after transferring to
Butler.

Chloe’s Sweet 16: Chloe
Hamilton’s 11-for-11 performance against Green Bay last month
was the bulk of an amazing stretch of shooting. Hamilton ended up
making 16 straight field goal attempts over three games. She hit
her last shot at UIC and 11 in a row vs. Green Bay and four
straight against Milwaukee on Jan. 29 before missing.

Pitt Drops 25: Alyssa Pittman had
Butler career highs of 25 points and six steals last Thursday at
UWM. She made four 3-pointers and also dished five assists.

Pittman’s Production: Alyssa
Pittman has increased her scoring since moving into the starting
lineup. The 5-9 senior is averaging 14.5 points over the last four
games, including a 23-point effort vs. UIC and a 25-point game at
Milwaukee.

Azjah Makes Her Point: After providing a much-needed
spark off the bench for most of the season, Azjah Bass has climbed
into the starting lineup at point guard. The senior point guard is
averaging 5.6 points and 5.0 assists over the past five games. The
5-7 senior also has a 1.6:1 assist-to-turnover ratio over the last
five contests. Bass has started 11 games this
season.

Finishing Strong: Butler has made a
habit of finishing the regular season on a positive note. The
Bulldogs have won their regular season finale in each of the last
four years. BU completed the 2007-08 year with a 66-58 win over
Valparaiso.

400: Butler’s win against
Milwaukee on Jan. 29 was victory No. 400 for Beth Couture. The
9th-year Bulldog coach now owns 403 career wins, including 145 at
Butler. Couture has the most women’s basketball wins in
Butler history. Only 48 other active NCAA coaches have 400 career
victories.

100 Starts For Bowen: Butler’s
Feb. 19 game vs. Loyola was the 100th career start for Brittany
Bowen at Butler. The Bulldogs are now 65-37 in games in which she
takes the floor first.

New Lineup: Beth Couture decided to
juggle the starting lineup four games ago, and the change paid off
immediately. With Alyssa Pittman making her third and fourth starts
this season, Butler jumped all over UIC and Loyola early to win
both games handily. Against UIC, the Bulldogs made 10 made
3-pointers in the first half, led by 20 at halftime and cruised to
a blowout win. The Bulldogs then built a 22-4 lead vs. Loyola en
route to a victory.

...Add It To The Many Starting
Lineups: Butler has used 12 different starting lineups in
29 games this season, including five groups one time. Two other
starting lineups have been used twice.

Getting Claire Back: Sophomore guard
Claire Freeman, who has started 14 games this season, did not make
last weekend’s trip to Wisconsin due to illness. The 5-8
guard is back with the team this weekend. Freeman, who hit a
game-winning jumper at Milwaukee last season, is averaging 3.6
points per game this year.

On A Defensive Crusade: In recent
meetings, Butler has been able to stifle Valparaiso on the
defensive end. Valpo has only broken 52 points once in the last
five meetings. The Crusaders are averaging just 52.6 points over
those five games.

Chloe Leading In League Play: Chloe
Hamilton is BU’s leading scorer in league play, scoring 15.8
points per game. Hamilton, who is pulling in 7.6 boards per game,
is shooting .608 in league play.

More On 34: Chloe Hamilton’s
34-point outburst at Youngstown State was one for the ages. Not
only was it three points short of the school single-game record,
but it was the highest output by a Butler player since 2001 when
Sarah Bolten tied the school record with 37 points. Two players -
UWM’s Courtney Lindfors and WSU’s LaShawna Thomas -
have scored 35 in a game this season.

More On 11 For 11: Chloe
Hamilton’s 11-for-11 shooting night against Green Bay on Jan.
27 was the third time in school history a Bulldog player took eight
shots or more and made them all. In addition to Alexis
Proffitt’s 13 for 13 (2/6/97), Kelly Kuhn went 8 for 8
against Wright State (2/20/99).

Small Ball: Just eight Bulldogs
appeared in Thursday’s loss at Milwaukee on Feb. 24, mainly
due to the nature of the game’s competitive nature.
What’s noteworthy though were the lineups Butler had to use
due to injury, illness and foul trouble. Butler had five guards on
the floor at times, and only one player taller than 5-10 (6-1 Becca
Bornhorst) saw any playing time. Only three players taller than 5-9
played.

Moving The Ball: Butler has
registered 20+ assists six times this season, with three coming in
the last five games. BU had 20 helpers on 24 field goals at YSU on
Feb. 10 and had 20 on 30 field goals vs. UIC. The Bulldogs then
added 24 assists on their 26 field goals on Feb. 19 vs.
Loyola.

2 For 30: Chloe Hamilton and
Brittany Bowen have combined to do something that has happened just
once in Butler women’s basketball history. The senior duo has
combined for three 30-point scoring performances this season. Bowen
dropped 30 vs. Indiana State and 31 against Cleveland State.
Hamilton had 34 points at Youngstown State. The only other time the
Bulldogs have had three 30-point performances in the same season
was 1990, when Julie VonDielingen had two and Nikki Anderson had
one.

Simple...Just Make Shots: Sometimes
the difference between winning and losing is simple. In its 17
victories, Butler is shooting .459 from the floor and scoring 73.2
points per game. In 12 losses, BU is shooting .362 and scoring 61.1
points per game. Butler is 15-0 when shooting a better percentage
than its opponent and 2-12 when shooting worse.

Get Back On The Boards: Butler,
owning an 11-6 record in Horizon League play, is also 11-6 in
rebounding against league opponents. BU out-rebounded its first
eight league opponents before losing the boards battle in three
straight games against Milwaukee, Detroit and Wright State. After
out-boarding UIC 43-40, Butler posted a commanding rebounding
advantage against Loyola (41-26). The Bulldogs have been +10 or
better on the glass eight times this season.

A 4th Straight 20: Butler needs
three more wins to reach 20 victories for the fourth season in a
row. That would be a first for BU as a Division I program, and
second time in school history. The Bulldogs had four 20-win seasons
in a row from 1978-82. This group went 20-10 in 2007-08 and
followed that with a 20-12 season in 2008-09. Last year’s
mark of 23-10 was the team’s most wins since the 1997-98
Bulldogs went 25-6 under June
Olkowski.

Bowen Is Scoring: Brittany Bowen,
who is averaging 15.4 points and 6.6 rebounds in Horizon League
play, is tied for sixth overall in the league averaging 15.4 points
this season. In addition to having a pair of 30-point games, the
5-10 senior has 23 outings with 12 points or more this season. She
has also scored 19 points or more eight times. Prior to this
season, she posted two 25-point performances. She is also
statistically one of the most efficient scorers in the league,
ranking third in the Horizon League in free throw percentage (.857)
and sixth in 3-point percentage (.386).

Bulldogs Nationally: In addition to
Chloe Hamilton ranking sixth in the country in field goal
percentage, Brittany Bowen can be found in the most recent NCAA
stats. Bowen ranks 25th in the nation in free throw percentage
(.857) and 100th in field goal percentage (.460). As a team, the
Bulldogs are 38th in assists, 44th in free throw shooting, 47th in
assist-to-turnover ratio, 75th in field goal shooting and 80th in
scoring.

1,300 Point Scorers: Butler and
Green Bay are the only teams in the Horizon League with two active
1,300-point scorers. Brittany Bowen and Alyssa Pittman have each
crossed that mark this season for the Bulldogs. Bowen now has 1,371
points as a Bulldog (8th in school history), and Pittman, who
crossed the 1,000-point mark last season, has 1,341 for her career.
She scored 715 points in two seasons at Eastern Michigan.

Couture’s Cause: When not
patrolling the Butler sideline, Beth Couture has spent her time in
the battle against breast cancer. Couture, who was diagnosed with
breast cancer in the spring of 2009, rushed through treatments to
make it on the sidelines for the start of the 2009-10 season.
Couture has been cancer-free for more than a year and has
participated in several awareness events. She walked 38 miles over
a two-day span for St. Vincent’s Weekend To End Breast Cancer
during the fall. She is also the honorary chairwoman for 2011 St.
Vincent Woman of Hope, a breast cancer awareness group. Each Woman
of Hope participant pledges to raise or give $1,000 annually for
the cancer cause of her choice.

Injury Bug: Butler standing second
in the Horizon League this season has been amazing when you
consider how hard the Bulldogs were hit by injuries. BU is without
two players who started the first half of the year in senior point
guard Terra Burns (8.5 ppg, 4.8 apg) and freshman center Sarah Hamm
(7.0 ppg). Burns was injured at Notre Dame and hasn’t played
since, while Hamm suffered an ACL tear in her right knee against
Valparaiso and is out for the year.

Devin Scoring More: Devin Brierly, a
career 4.5 scorer, has four double-digit scoring efforts over the
last nine games. Brierly scored a career-high 19 points in
BU’s win over Milwaukee on Jan. 29, 16 at Cleveland State and
a pair of 12-point games. However, it’s not the scoring
column where her value is best measured. Brierly is an athletic,
versatile wing who Coach Couture says is the team’s best
perimeter defender. She also takes care of the ball, sporting a
1.29 assist-to-turnover ratio. She is also shooting .825 at the
free throw line, good for second on the team.

Up Next: Following Butler’s
game at Valparaiso, the Bulldogs will host a quarterfinal league
tournament game Wednesday, March 9 at Hinkle Fieldhouse at 7
p.m.